Del. Liz Guzmán

Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back (G3) Fundand Program established. Establishes the Get Skilled,Get a Job, Give Back (G3) Fund and requires the Virginia Community College System to establish the G3 Program for the purpose of providing financial assistance from the Fund to certain low-income and middle-income Virginia students who are enrolled in an educational program at an associate-degree-granting public institution of higher educationthat leads to an occupation in a certain high-demand field. The billcontains provisions for student eligibility, financial assistanceaward amounts, and data reporting.

Employee protections; medicinal use of cannabis oil. Prohibits an employer from discharging, disciplining, or discriminating against an employee for such employee's lawful use of cannabis oil pursuant to a valid written certification issued by a practitioner for the treatment or to eliminate the symptoms of the employee's diagnosed condition or disease. The bill provides that such prohibition does not (i) restrict an employer's ability to take any adverse employment action for any work impairment caused by the use of cannabis oil or to prohibit possession during work hours or (ii) require an employer to commit any act that would cause the employer to be in violation of federal law or that would result in the loss of a federal contract or federal funding.

Provision of broadband capacity by Phase I or Phase II electric utilities. Makes permanent the pilot program under which a Phase I or Phase II electric utility is permitted to petition the State Corporation Commission to provide broadband capacity to unserved areas of the Commonwealth. The bill expands the program to allow for the participation of municipalities and government-owned broadband authorities. The bill provides that investor-owned electric utilities may recover costs of and revenue generated from providing broadband capacity that serves as an electric grid transformation project in areas unserved by broadband, as defined in the bill. The bill also consolidates the State Corporation Commission petition approval process into one hearing.

Practice of certified nurse midwives. Eliminatesthe requirement that certified nurse midwives practice pursuant toa practice agreement and provides that certified nurse midwives shall practice in accordance with regulations of the Boards of Medicineand Nursing and consistent with the Standards for the Practice ofMidwifery set by the American College of Nurse-Midwives and shallconsult and collaborate with and refer patients to such other healthcare providers as may be appropriate for the care of the patient.

Fines and costs; accrual of interest; deferralor installment payment agreements. Provides that no interestshall accrue on any fine or costs imposed in a criminal case or ina case involving a traffic infraction (i) for a period of 180 daysfollowing the date of the final judgment imposing such fine or costs;(ii) during any period the defendant is incarcerated; and (iii) fora period of 180 days following the date of the defendant's releasefrom incarceration if the sentence includes an active term of incarceration.Current law prohibits interest from accruing on such fines or costsfor a period of 40 days from the date of the final judgement imposing such fine or costs or during any period the defendant is incarcerated. The bill also removes the requirement thata defendant be unable to make payment of a fine, restitution, forfeiture, or penalty and costs within 30 days of sentencing in order to beeligible to enter into a deferred or installment payment agreementand allows any defendant to enter such payment agreements. The billremoves the one-time fee not to exceed $10 that a court may assesswhen a defendant is unable to make payment within 90 days of sentencingand provides that no fee shall be assessed in connection with a defendant'sparticipation in a deferred or installment payment agreement. Thebill removes the requirement that a defendant make a down paymentupon entering a deferred, modified deferred, or installment paymentagreement.

Board of Education; temporary extension of certain licenses. Requires the Board of Education to grant a two-year extension of the license of any individual licensed by the Board whose license expires on June 30, 2021, in order to provide the individual with sufficient additional time to complete the requirements for licensure.

Abolition of the death penalty. Abolishes the death penalty, including for those persons currently under a death sentence. The bill incorporates HB 1779.

Prescription drug price transparency. Requires every health carrier, pharmacy benefits manager, wholesale drug distributer, and drug manufacturer to report information about prescription drug prices to the Department of Health and requires the Department to make such information available on its website. The bill also provides that, beginning January 1, 2022, a health plan enrollee's defined cost sharing for each prescription drug shall be calculated at the point of sale based on a price that is reduced by an amount equal to at least 80 percent of all rebates received, or to be received, in connection with the dispensing or administration of the prescription drug. The bill also requires the Bureau of Insurance to (i) identify all statutory and regulatory provisions from which health plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) are exempted and (ii) determine the financial impact, if any, of application of such statutory and regulatory provisions such health plans, and to report its finding to the Chairman of the House Committees on Health, Welfare and Institutions and Labor and Commerce and the Chairmen of the Senate Committees on Commerce and Labor and Education and Health by October 1, 2021

Virginia Agriculture Food Assistance Programand Fund; established. Requires the Commissioner of Agricultureand Consumer Services (the Commissioner) to establish the VirginiaAgriculture Food Assistance Program (VAFA Program) for Virginia farmersand food producers to donate, sell, or otherwise provide agricultureproducts to charitable food assistance organizations. The bill also creates the Virginia Agriculture Food Assistance Fund to disbursemoneys to such charitable food assistance organizations to reimbursefarmers or food producers for any costs associated with harvesting,processing, packaging, or transporting agriculture products donatedto such charitable food assistance organizations. The bill authorizesthe Commissioner to adopt guidelines and regulations to carry outthe VAFA Program.

Telemedicine. Clarifies that nothing shallpreclude coverage of telehealth services by an insurer proposing to issue individual or group accident and sickness insurance policiesproviding hospital, medical and surgical, or major medical coverageon an expense-incurred basis; a corporation providing individualor group accident and sickness subscription contracts; or a healthmaintenance organization providing a health care plan for healthcare services. The bill requires the Board of Medical AssistanceServices to amend the state plan for medical assistance to providefor payment of medical assistance for remote patient monitoring servicesprovided via telemedicine for certain high-risk patients, and providesfor the establishment of a practitioner-patient relationship viatelemedicine for the prescribing of Schedule II through VI controlledsubstances.